Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site Foundation Document

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Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site Foundation Document NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site New York September 2017 Foundation Document Stable/Garage Cutting Garden Playhouse Val-Kill Cottage V A L - K I L L P O N D Swimming Pool Rose Garden Stone Cottage Tennis Court Doll House Fireplace PARKING MAP ART BY POWER ENGINEERS ✩GPO:20xx—xxx-xxx/xxxxx New in 20xx Printed on recycled paper. Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1 Introduction 2 Part 1: Core Components 3 Brief Description of the Park 3 Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area 4 Park Purpose 5 Park Significance 6 Fundamental Resources and Values 6 Other Important Resources and Values 6 Related Resources 7 Interpretive Themes 9 Part 2: Dynamic Components 10 Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 10 Special Mandates 10 Administrative Commitments 10 Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 10 Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 11 Analysis of Other Important Resources and Values 17 Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs 19 Planning and Data Needs 20 Part 3: Contributors 23 Home of Franklin D Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Sites 23 NPS Northeast Region 23 Other NPS Staff 23 Appendixes 24 Appendix A: Enabling Legislation and Legislative Acts for Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site 24 Appendix B: Interpretive Themes for Home of Franklin D Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Sites 27 Foundation Document Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are: · Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community. · Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service. · Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another. · Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it. · Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well-being of everyone. The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service. The national park system continues to grow and comprises more than 400 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations. The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values. 1 Foundation Document Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed. A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity. While not included in this document, a park atlas is also part of a foundation project. The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and park operations. The atlas is published as a (hard copy) paper product and as geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The park atlas for Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site can be accessed online at: http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/. 2 Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park, park purpose, significance statements, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts. Brief Description of the Park The 181-acre Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site was established by Congress in 1977 to preserve Mrs. Roosevelt’s cherished home at Val-Kill on a part of the historic Roosevelt Family Estate. Here she founded Val-Kill Industries to provide new skills and employment opportunities for unemployed local farm workers. At her Val-Kill home, she wrote books and newspaper columns, served as the first U.S. delegate to the United Nations, chaired the committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and came into her own as one of the most influential figures of her time. Purchased by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) in 1911, Val-Kill soon became a favorite family picnic site. In 1924, FDR urged Eleanor and her friends Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman to build a cottage there so they could enjoy the peace and solitude year-round. Construction of the Stone Cottage was started in 1925 and completed the following year. Val-Kill Cottage was built in 1926 as a furniture factory for Val-Kill Industries, which was run by the three women. Eleanor Roosevelt converted it to her residence in 1936–1937, and it became her year-round home after FDR’s death in 1945. FDR enjoyed outings at Val-Kill during his presidency. During her residency at Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt surrounded herself with family and friends and hosted a range of people, from national and world leaders to local youth and students, who reflected her diverse interests. Other important structures at Val-Kill are the Stable-Garage, Doll House, Playhouse, and swimming pool. The Doll House is a small wooden structure, originally located near the FDR Home and moved to Val-Kill by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1945 for the use of her grandchildren. The Playhouse, a one-story frame building, was built in several phases beginning in 1928 and was adapted for various uses, including a forge and metal-working shop for Val- Kill Industries. Eleanor Roosevelt loved the beauty and tranquility of the Val-Kill landscape, characteristics that endure today. Val-Kill Pond, a dammed section of the Fall Kill, is a central feature around which the main buildings, Stone Cottage and Val-Kill Cottage, are arranged. Lawns, gardens, woodlands, and forest plantations set out by FDR surround the structures. The site also includes a large white pine plantation set out by FDR in 1914. The plantation, known as “The Secret Woods,” is said to be where Eleanor Roosevelt read stories to her grandchildren. In addition to the Secret Woods, the remains of several other plantations survive, including white cedar, tulip tree, and Scotch pine plantations set out as experimental plots by the New York State College of Forestry. The agricultural context of Val-Kill remained important throughout Eleanor Roosevelt’s life, and she actively sought to continue it after FDR’s death, when she and her
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